Davenport’s Melissa Wedlock takes fourth in Together with Love 10k

Watsonville’s Hugo Sanchez takes second in 5k

Davenport resident Melissa Wedlock placed fourth in the women’s race and 29th overall in the 28th annual Together with Love 10-kilometer in Pacific Grove on Sunday.

Wedlock clocked in at 43 minutes, 29 seconds, winning her age group. Kari Ann Bertrand of Gilroy won the women’s race in 38:28 for eighth overall.

Other top-20 finishers from Santa Cruz County included 11-year-old Chris Anderson of Santa Cruz, who placed in 13th [40:02]; Aptos’ Evan Randall-Goodwin, who placed 17th [41:24]; and La Selva Beach’s Bobby McKee, who placed 18th [41:27], according to Buzz Word Productions results.

In the 5k race, Watsonville’s Hugo Sanchez took second place [18:27] behind Carlos Millan [17:43] as the top runner from Santa Cruz County. There may have been other runners from Santa Cruz County in the top 20 of the 5k race, but if so their places of residence were not listed in the Buzz Word Productions results.

The Together with Love races benefit the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center.

Find photos of the races here.

Registration opens for Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival 2013

A rider flies through the air during the Jump Jam during the 2012 edition of the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival in Aptos, Calif. (Christina Gullickson/Sentinel)

Registration is now open for the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival, which is scheduled for April 13-14 in Aptos, Calif., according to a press release.

This year’s lineup includes a short track cross country race, pump track event, amateur jump contest, a jump jam, and more. For the full list, which also has events for children and women, see the festival’s website.

Registration prices increase after March 24, and online registration closes April 10, according to the festival’s website.

Santa Cruz’s Katie Melena takes fourth in UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships

Santa Cruz resident Katie Melena placed fourth in the women’s 35-39 age division of the UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, Ky., on Friday.

Melena [Bicycle Bluebook/HRS/Rock Lobster] completed four laps in 43 minutes, 3 seconds to take fourth behind Krystal Boni [USA, Rapid Racing], who won in 40:18; Melissa Baker [USA, GS Boulder/Studio 1 Dental/Orga], who finished runner-up in 41:14; and Jane Burlew [USA< Asheville Cyclocross], who took third in 41:49.

Aptos’ Ron Riley [Bike Station Aptos] also competed. He placed ninth in the men’s 70-plus age division, finishing two of three laps Thursday. James Wagner [USA, Bike Masters- WA] won, going three laps in 42:52.

Results included in this report are from the UCI Masters Cyclo-cross World Championships website.

Aptos’ Nikia Brautovich wins Rotary Mission 10-Miler

Nikia Brautovich speeds down the final stretch in the Rotary Mission 10-Miler on January 26, 2013. (Nick Brautovich/Contributed)

Aptos resident Nikia Brautovich won the Rotary Mission Ten 10-miler on Saturday, crossing the finish line of the footrace in San Juan Bautista in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 39 seconds for first place among women and 22nd place overall.

Brautovich was followed by Stephanie Kato in second place [1:04:13] and Amy Johnston in third place [1:05:15].

Michael Ramirez won the men’s title in 56:24.

Results included in this report are from the Rotary Mission Ten 10-miler website.

Valencia Elementary students Joey Ullian, Kaden Harrah make top 10 in 408MX races

Kaden Harrah and Joey Ullian take a break for a photo in the parking lot of last weekend’s race, where they both earned top-10 finishes. (Athena Knight/Contributed)

Valencia Elementary School students Joey Ullian and Kaden Harrah placed in the top 10 of their respective divisions in the 37th annual CMC Golden State Nationals, a 408MX dirt bike competition, in San Jose on Sunday.

Ullian, 8, placed third in the 65 division, and Harrah, 10, placed sixth in the 85 division.

“These boys have been training for about six months with Tucker Swanson and have competed in about three races,” Athena Knight wrote to the Sentinel. “Both boys love to dirt bike and have dreams of going pro.”

The event was postponed from Jan. 6 due to weather.

Results included in this report are from Knight. Official results are not available.

5 Santa Cruz County riders medal at Cylocross Nationals

Spanning nearly 60 years in age, five cyclocross racers from Santa Cruz County medaled in their respective divisions at the USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross Nationals in Madison, Wis., from Jan. 9-13.

Aptos’ Ron Riley [Bike Station Aptos] was the sole rider from the area to win a race — although he did it as the only entrant — at the ripe young age of 78. Riley, who is the defending world masters champion for his age group,  won the men’s masters division for those 75-79 years old. He completed the race in 46 minutes, 33 seconds.

Also from Santa Cruz, Aaron Bradford [Bicycle Bluebook/HRS/Rock Lobster Cyclocross] took silver in the men’s single speed division [45:25], where Adam Craig of Bend, Ore., [Giant Factory Off-Road] won in 43:14. Bonny Doon’s Justin Robinson [California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized/California Giant Cycling] also earned silver, winning the men’s masters Cat 1/2/3 35-39 age division in 46:23. Russell Stevenson of Boulder, Colo., won in 46:06.

Santa Cruz’s Tobin Ortenblad [California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized/California Giant Cycling], who is 19, and Katie Melena [Bicycle Bluebook/HRS/Rock Lobster Cyclocross] also medaled in their races.

Ortenblad took bronze in the Cat 1/2/3 Under-23 division, crossing the finish line in 46:53. Yannick Eckmann of Boulder won that race in 44:42. Melena took third in the women’s masters 35-39 age division, crossing the finish line in 39:28. Corey Coogan Cisek won in 37:47.

Results included in this report are from USA Cycling.com

Aptos’ Marc Erik Lowe, Soquel’s Michelle Kern take Jingle Bell Rock Toys for Tots 5k by storm

Aptos’ Marc Erik Lowe won for the second straight year and and Soquel’s Michelle Kern dominated the women’s field in the Jingle Bell Rock Toys for Tots 5-kilometer race at the San Lorenzo River Levee in Santa Cruz over the weekend.

Lowe crossed the finish line in 18 minutes, 59.6 seconds to defend his title. He was followed by Kern, who crossed the finish line in 19:34.1 for the women’s title and second place overall. Chris Anderson was second among men and third overall [20:13.8], and Josh Mader was third among men and fifth overall [20:20.3].

Kern was followed by Abbey Meck, who placed second among women and fourth overall [20:14], and Margaret Ellis took third among women and seventh overall [20:36.4].

Results included in this report are from Finishline Productions.

Aptos’ Jennifer Willoughby wins Summit Rock Half Marathon

Aptos resident Jennifer Willoughby won the Summit Rock Half Marathon women’s race and and Aptos’ Gareth Ewing made the top 10 of the men’s race in Sanborn County Park in Saratoga on Saturday.

Willoughby finished the race in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 24 seconds for the win and 25th place overall. She was followed by Tiffany Meyer, who was up from Eugene, Ore., and finished in 2:16:27 for second place [37th overall], and Zhimin Yang of San Jose who finished in 2:19:26 for third place [40th overall].

Ewing took sixth overall, crossing the finish line in 1:53:13. San Carlos’ Leor Pantilat won in 1:33:27.

Watsonville’s Mark Thompson placed 19th in the 5-kilometer race [actually 3.3 miles], which was run in conjunction with the half marathon, in 32:13. The 5k was won by Manuel Calero.

Results included in this report are from the Brazen Racing website.

Santa Cruz’s Stefano Profumo, Aptos’ Olivia Berhan win Turkey Trot 10k

Santa Cruz resident Stefano Profumo and Aptos resident Olivia Berhan won the men’s and women’s divisions of the Santa Cruz Turkey Trot 10-kilometer race at West Cliff Drive on Saturday.

Profumo, 34, crossed the finish line in 35:40 with a 5:45 per-mile pace. Santa Cruz’s Julian Sunn, 27, followed just 10 seconds later to take second, and Christopher Ratliff, 42, rounded out the top three in 35:57.

Berhan, 12, was the top female finisher, completing the race in 45:30 for the win and 31st place overall. Aptos’ Polly Feyereisn, 34, took second [46:20], and Woodside’s Erika Kikuchi, 34, placed third [47:10].

Fifteen-year-old Javier Azona of Hollister won the 5k, which was run in conjunction with the 10k, in 17:44, and Soquel’s Michelle Kern was the women’s winner in 19:25. Kern, 48, was ninth overall.

The race is an annual event hosted by the Santa Cruz Track Club. Results are from the Santa Cruz Track Club website.

Aptos’ Shasta Criss ties for third in San Francisco Safari disc golf tourney

Aptos resident Shasta Criss matched his best finish of the year as he also matched James Proctor in the San Francisco Safari disc golf tournament, a Professional Disc Golf Association-sanctioned B-tier event, in the Golden Gate Park Disc Golf Course over the weekend.

Criss and Proctor, Rohnert Park, each threw 13-under 122 totals to finish behind winner Danny Kerfeld of San Francisco and runner-up Gregg Barsby of Grass Valley, who each shot 121s.

Criss’ previous third-place finish was in the Coyote Classic in October.

Results included in this report are from the PDGA website.